The Spaces Inbetween
by I'dRatherBeRunning
Summary: It is seventh year for Addison Fleming, Head Girl, and life as she knows it will change indefinitely. She must face betrayal, loss, and the Head Boy, as well as old and powerful acquaintances such as Draco Malfoy. BlaiseOC...RR please!
1. Confessions of Miss Perfect

So here's my first story on this site…I was pondering for months about whether to resurrect this story and present it to the public, but finally decided to. Please let me know what you think and if I should continue.

Note that this is not a Draco romance, although he is mentioned a lot and is well weaved into the plot. This is mostly about Blaise Zabini, a rather elusive character. If anyone needs help envisioning Blaise in my particular story, I think of him as actor Adam Brody.

Enjoy!

**Confessions of Miss Perfect **(Prologue)

"You are SUCH a GIT!" cried an eleven year old with red-gold braids bouncing behind her as she chased a boy her age, whose own platinum blonde hair flopped around as he ran around a vast, ornate dining room, smirking while taunting the girl in a singsong voice.

"I got your wand!! LOSER!! I got your wa-a-ahhhhhhhh!!" The boy abruptly fell to the ground as the girl lunged at his knees.

"HA!" She pulled the wand out of his hands triumphantly. "Who's the loser now Draco?!"

"C'mon Addie, you know I _let_ you get me." Addie rolled her eyes and they both took a seat on the cold marble floor. A contented silence passed between the two children.

"Do you think things will ever be the same again Dray? During Hogwarts I mean. After all, school starts tomorrow." Draco stared into in Addie's shining gray-green eyes and knew that she was actually being serious.

"Of _course_ things will be fine! Hogwarts is going to be great. We'll always y'know, be best friends. You worry too much." They smiled.

What would Hogwarts bring for them?

**6 Years Later**

"You are such a GIT!" cried a 17 year old with pin-straight red gold hair flying behind her as she chased a boy her age with platinum blonde locks. The boy ran around a crowded train station, holding an oblong package and dodging a crowd of people in front of a magnificent crimson train. He had every intention of throwing the package onto the tracks where it would soon be crushed.

He skidded to an abrupt stop when a large cage holding a tawny owl rolled across his path. The girl took this opportunity to deftly grab him by his coat shoulder and shove him around so that he was facing her.

As she snatched the parcel, her prized broomstick, out of his hands, she fixed her stormy gray-green eyes into a chilling glare. How she wished that she were taller! He had about a foot on her, and could easily loom over her menacingly. But she stood her ground firmly, Addison Fleming was many things, but definitely not a pushover. 

He smirked. "Touchy, touchy, aren't we Fleming? I heard that you made Head Girl. Too bad you can't dock points until we actually get to school."

When she didn't respond, he continued. "But you know who's Head Boy? My best mate Blaise. So whatever points _you_ take of, _he'll_ just restore." He sneered wickedly. "So, _congratulations_ on your fine achievement and have a _wonderful_ year." He finished sarcastically and walked away. Addie was not one to be crossed, and all but Malfoy would have quivered under her livid glare.

"You'll pay for that Malfoy." She called to his retreating back, only to be met with an exaggerated snort that could be heard over the bustle of the busy station.

Then he uttered two fateful words. "Make me."

Addison Fleming sighed and took a crumpled letter out of her back jeans pocket and she stepped onto the Hogwarts Express. The letter had obviously been read and reread, unfolded and folded over and over again.

_Dear Miss Fleming,  
We are pleased to inform you that you have been chosen to be Head Girl. Out of all the candidates, you convinced us with many of your fine qualities. You would be perfect for the role. Enclosed are: The complete book of school rules and your Head Girl badge (which you are expected to wear at all times).  
Upon boarding the Hogwarts Express, please meet in the Head compartment at precisely 10:30 AM. There, you will meet with the Head Boy and discuss matters to address to the Prefects. Then the both of you will meet with the Prefects and explain school rules and assign patrol duties (I trust that youve reviewed these topics).   
Thank you, and we expect to have a lovely year._

Sincerely,  
Albus Dumbledore (Headmaster)  
And  
Minerva McGonagall (Deputy Headmistress)

She checked her watch as she headed to the Heads compartment, only 10:24. No matter, she liked to be early.

As she sat down on the cushy seats in the compartment, she thought about what lay ahead for the year.

She had cursed Dumbledore for not telling her who the Head Boy would be. Blaise Zabini wouldnt be too bad. At least it wasn't that stupid ferret Malfoy or Saint Pothead himself.

**FLASHBACK:**

****

6 Years Ago: 

11-year-old Addie was squirming in her seat next to her best friend Draco. Across from them sat a pug-faced girl talking animatedly to Draco while staring at him. Addie and Draco were both getting annoyed of this (sadly) pureblooded girl who had been following them around parties and teas since they were old enough to walk and talk.

"And this is just going to be so FUN! Won't it be FUN Drakie?! It'll be me, you, Addie, Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini! I can just see it now." Sighed Pansy Parkinson.

"Who's Zabini?" Addie and Draco asked at the same time. Curiosity spread across Addie's face while Draco lifted a light eyebrow indifferently. Only Addie could tell that he was dying to know as well.

"Ohhh! You haven't heard? A new family moved here from Italy. The Zabini's have a boy, Blaise, the same age as us. Their pure of _course_."

Addie snorted. "Blaise?? That sounds like a pastry!" Draco laughed along with her.

Then the compartment door swung open, revealing an 11-year-old boy with dark curls, deep chocolate eyes, and friendly slightly tanned face. Two thug-like boys around the same age flanked him.

"BLAISE!!" Squealed Pansy. Addie blushed and grew silent while Draco just snorted and raised his eyes to the ceiling before lowering them and coolly regarding the newcomer.

Blaise looked a bit uneasy after regarding the two kids he had just met. This was not his usual greeting.

After an awkward pause, Addie finally looked Blaise in the eyes as Draco stood up and shook his hand with a solid grip that he had perfected even in his young age..

"I'm Draco, Draco Malfoy." Draco smirked with a superior look. 

"Nice to meet you, I'm Blaise Zabini." Blaise looked around. "And who are you?"

"Addison Fleming. Or just Addie would be really great, I don't like my name much, so Addie will do." She then blushed and looked down once she realized that she was babbling.

Blaise grinned. "Nice to meet you Addie."

"L-likewise. So, um...what house do you want to be in?" Addie asked, trying to recover from her embarrassing moment by making small talk.

"What kind of question is that?" Draco laughed. "He wants to be in Slytherin of course. That's we're we all belong. It will surely lead us to greatness."

Addie glared at Draco for belittling her, veiling the fact that she grew increasingly uncomfortable.

Her best friend seemed so set on becoming a Slytherin. They had planned it for years, but as time passed and their first year came nearer and nearer, Addie felt an ache of worry. Would she make Slytherin? She wasn't so sure.

She didn't know what would happen to her's and Draco's relationship if she didn't make Slytherin. And she most definitely did not want to find out.


	2. Sharing Spaces

"Uh...hey. Um...Fleming?" A smooth voice and a hand waving across her face snapped Addie out of her nostalgia.

"Oh! Zabini, sorry...just...thinking." Addie blushed. She hated the fact that redheads blushed excessively.

He smiled a friendly smile. "No problem, that's what you're known for anyways...being smart, you know? No one can stop you from _thinking_." He said with a small smile and took a seat across from Addison.

"So uh, you and me huh? That wouldn't be too bad. At least it's not Pansy or something." Blaise smiled an easy smile. She tried to read between his words and determine whether or not his smile was fake like she did with everyone, but found that the more she looked at him, the more she felt utmost sincerity coming from him. How odd for a Slytherin.

Then she realized that she'd barely said a word since he had arrived.

"So, did you read the rules and patrol regulations?" She asked, quickly recovering. Asking about school-related subjects often made her feel safer. She was a smart one, a 'natural Ravenclaw', people would say.

"Yes, I reviewed everything, knowing you, I figured that you'd want to test me on this." Though he didn't say it mockingly like many others would, he still kept a twinkle in his dark eyes, giving her an unidentified emotion that she fought to harbor. She succeeded of course, for that was what she was known for.

"How did you know that I was to be Head Girl? I only found out that you were Head Boy a little while ago." Addie said, flustered. It made her apprehensive that he had found out important information before she had. And why was he being so nice to her? Draco no doubt had let his best friend know his contempt for Addie.

"Oh, well Draco told me..."

"That blasted little ferret! He knew who the Head Boy was and didn't tell me even though I lived at his manor the whole summer! I even asked him about it…civilly!"

Then regaining her composure, she replied, "Oh, that's...nice. So what do you think we should do about the patrol schedules? I think tha-"

"Probably the Gryffindor Prefects on Monday, and Friday nights from nine to ten, Ravenclaw Prefects on Tuesday and Thursday nights from nine to ten, and we'll have Slytherin Prefects Saturday and Sunday from obviously, nine to ten. Then we do every night besides Wednesday from ten to eleven. Then the Hufflepuffs can take Wednesday nights from nine to eleven because I think we deserve one night with no patrol duties at all. Then the Prefects in their respective houses can decide amongst themselves on how to divide up the jobs." Blaise finished with a small smile.

Addie just gaped at him.

His plan would probably work out better than hers. At first, she was a little uneasy about Blaise filling the role of Head Boy, but now he seemed adequately capable, if not more so. Something else though, made her uneasy. Perhaps it was her natural detriment---not being able to trust others. No, it was not a detriment, it was developed over the years over things that she liked to believe were pushed to the back of her mind, compressed and sealed in a little space that would surely never be opened again.

"Shall we hear your plan?" Blaise prompted her after a few moments of silence.

"No, no, that plan sounds fine Zabini. Let's go talk to the prefects." She admitted to herself that perhaps she had underestimated Malfoy's best friend.

As they got up to leave the compartment, Blaise suddenly said, "You know, if we're going to work together this whole year, we might as well just go on first-name basis, Addison." Addie was glad that Blaise was walking behind her so that he couldn't see her fume over the fact that he had said her full first name.

"All right, but it's not Addison, it's _Addie_." She said in a clipped tone.

"Addie it is then."

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

The prefects meeting could not have gone smoother. Blaise truly proved himself capable.

All throughout dinner, Addie listened in on bits and pieces of everybody's conversations. Most seventh years were getting sentimental talking about how this would be the beginning of an end, and other subjects she deemed worthless and a waste of her time.

Addie didn't care for this type of nonsense. To her, the sooner she could get out of Hogwarts and get a life of her own, the better. She wanted to make this year as pain-free as possible. Of course, being Head Girl only sweetened the already lovely deal.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

"Hey." For the second time that day, Addie's thoughts were interrupted by Blaise's English accent with an Italian tinge betraying his heritage.

"Heading for the dorms eh?" The accent was actually rather lovely, the slight Mediterranean lilt was such a warm change to the frosty, pristine accent that most of her English-born classmates spoke with.

With sudden realization, she realized that she would be living with him.

For the rest of the year...oh _Merlin_.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Then she found that the Heads quarters were as nice as she had heard. A hallway separated their rooms, and spiral staircases descended from each side. Their own mini common room was cozy, her bathroom was luxurious, the elves had made her room to look exactly like the one she had at home, and best of all, the door locked.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Addie awoke to a sound that none appreciate hearing. The sound of pounding skin on wood.

_Who in the bloody HELL is trying to break open my door at six-thirty in the morning?_

A very tired Addison Fleming opened her heavy eyes and stared at the alarm clock she received last Christmas. It stood next to an ornately framed picture of her family. Her room looked the same, but felt different somehow.

"Mother! Just why are you trying to break down the bloody door at _six-thirty in the morning_?"

She yanked off the covers, still fuming from being woken up so early. In the summers, she usually got up around eleven. Putting on a silky bathrobe over her cami and boy shorts, she marched over to the door and jerked the door open.

She didn't see her mother. Or her father. Or even her dratted little brother.

Instead, there stood a scared but somewhat amused Blaise Zabini.

Then all the events of yesterday flooded back to her. _She_ was at Hogwarts. _He_ was Head Boy. They technically lived together now.

Then she shook herself out of her stupor. It must've looked...odd...to anyone who would have been watching them. She was standing with a blank expression in her bathrobe and he was fully dressed but looked quite disturbed.

"Yeah. So...breakfast is in half an hour. Just wanted to let you know." He nodded almost awkwardly before tucking his hands into his pockets, smiling sheepishly, and heading back to his room down the small hallway.

Closing the door, all Addie could feel was embarrassment. Her hair was a royal mess and she didn't even have her makeup on. The robe was MORE than revealing, considering she had owned it since she was merely thirteen. What was she thinking? _Was_ she even thinking? Surely Blaise would tell Draco about her messy, muddled morning appearance, and he would have yet another thing to ridicule her for on the odd occasion when they were forced to exchange words.

She really needed to get her act together. Feeling vulnerable and...and STUPID was not exactly at the top of Addie's to-do list.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

At precisely 7:30 AM, Addie walked into the Great Hall, her dark-red hair up in its usual messy bun, her uniform neat as always, with her shiny Head Girl badge pinned proudly on her chest.

Taking a seat at the Ravenclaw table, her fellow housemates quieted a bit and acknowledged her presence before returning to their banter.

"_Addie!_" All of a sudden, a flash of bright blonde hair caught her eye before she felt twiggy but strong arms pull her into a tight hug.

She smiled her first real smile since she got to Hogwarts and straightened herself out. "Mandy! How was your stay at your uncles'?" Her best friend's green-gray eyes did a little roll.

"Don't be bloody daft, it was_ so _boring! Brocklehurst family reunions are always shot to hell as soon as Uncle Ernest touches the damn firewhiskey bottle. I thought you knew me well enough by now!" Mandy exclaimed sarcastically as she grabbed two pieces of toast and dipped them both directly into the syrup pitcher before taking a bite. The people sitting around Mandy and Addie twisted their faces into very discreet looks of disgust, but no one said anything. Of course, Mandy _was_ the most admired girl in Ravenclaw.

"Ha! Summer at the Malfoy's wasn't a stroll in the park either! Thank Merlin Tracey visited." Their other best friend, Tracey Davis was a stunning Slytherin who held the record for lasting in a relationship with Draco Malfoy himself.

"Hey! I'm sorry I couldn't visit you in that shithole, okay? It's not like I _wanted_ to be at that blasted family reunion. And don't worry so much about sodding ferret-face, he's not worth all your aggro. Anyways, I heard that you got Head Girl, and Zabini's the Head Boy eh? Quite a looker you got there, Fleming." Mandy winked and continued to eat more food. How she maintained her lithe frame while eating all that was beyond even Addie's mind. Addie blushed, true Blaise was decent-looking...cute even. But he was a friend of Malfoy's, and anyone who was friends with that little piece of horseshit didn't deserve a second glance.

Addie ate in silence as Mandy talked to more people around the table. How she was best friends with the two most popular girls in school was, well...plain weird.

Addie, as opposed to Tracey and Mandy rarely partied, turned down virtually every guy who asked her out, and was a stickler for rules. It often made people say, "Why are they friends with _her_?" She got her friends on track and would often be the one to brew pepper-up potion for them after a rough night or a hangover potion when the occasion arose.

She _knew_ that people thought that she was uptight. She _knew_ that she had the intense urge to be perfect. She even knew that she could be incredibly annoying at times, and that people wouldn't even respect her if it weren't for her two best friends.

_But so what?_

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

"So...still going to be on the team this year, Fleming?" Someone fell into pace next to her as she walked from NEWT Defense Against the Dark Arts back to her dorm.

"Corner, how could you ask such a thing? Of course!" She looked up at her team captain and raised a carefully plucked eyebrow at tall seventh year Michael Corner.

"Of course, I should have thought before talking. I just thought that you might be busy this year, being Head Girl and all. Especially with Cho gone, we need all the great players we can get. I'll even walk you to lunch." He offered with a smile and a wink.

"Flattery will get you nowhere with me, Michael. I'm eating in my dorm...I need to sort out Prefect duties and such." She smiled and walked away quickly.

She knew that Michael didn't really like her that much. He respected her for being a good chaser on the team, but he mostly sucked up to her to get to her friends. Well, Mandy in particular. A lot of people did that…and it was both amusing to see people try, and hurtful because it made Addie think that they didn't like her enough to just hang out with her for being _herself_, but only 'liked' her because they wanted to get to her friends.

Pushing all these thoughts outside of her already frazzled head, she decided that now was not the time for this. She would _not_ look a fool in front of Blaise again.

Walking back to the dorm, she stopped by the Kitchens and grabbed a salami sandwich before hastily getting back to her room and dumping all her stuff from her backpack onto her bed and whipping off the reading glasses that she accidentally left on from class.

Then of course, she picked the various things up and arranged them neatly on her desk. No one could ever accuse Addison Fleming of being a slob.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

"Ah! Miss Fleming!" Professor Sprout shook Addie out of her daze while sitting in a stuffy greenhouse for Herbology.

"So, what's the answer dearie?" The professor smiled at her star pupil.

"Repeat the question please," Addie mustered up her most pristine, diplomatic voice whilst smacking herself inwardly for dozing off.

"We're going over the proper uses of our equipment, I trust that you know the proper precautions necessary for using Flesh-Eating Slug repellent?"

"Of course, you make sure that you have on your dragon-hide gloves and goggles." Addie answered with ease. This was NEWT Herbology for Merlin's sake, not some first year class.

At the end of Herbology, dragging Mandy with her, Addie went up to Professor Sprout as she began setting out fanged geraniums for her upcoming third year class.

"Professor can I have a word?" Addie asked as politely as she could, while Mandy rolled her eyes behind her.

"Of course Miss Fleming. What is it?" The old professor smiled kindly.

"I'm sorry for not paying attention in class, it's the first day of school and all, and my mind has been all over the place, being Head Girl and all. I'm truly sorry, and it won't happen again." Addie said with utmost sincerity.

"Not at problem my dear, we all have our little moments. Now run along before you're late for your next class!"

Stepping out of the greenhouse, Mandy started laughing. "I'm _so_ sorry for not paying attention in class Professor, but I was having a_ late night study session_ with the Head Boy, can you_ ever_ forgive me??" She mimicked in a fake whiny voice.

Addie blushed violet and hit Mandy's shoulder. "Hey! What was that for? You can relax now, you've gotten Head Girl. Get your head out of your arse and live a little!" Mandy smiled, "This year, I command you to slack a little, get crazy, get_ smashed_, and let that pretty hair of yours down!" cackling again, Mandy waved goodbye and turned the corner into another corridor.

_"Just live a little..._"


End file.
